Lessons in Sniping
by Amanda Kitswell
Summary: Mordecai gives Lilith some tips on how to use a sniper. A head canon I have for why she ends up with the Specter Class Mod in the General Knoxx DLC.


_**Really short drabble I cooked up while working on a Christmas gift for someone. Somehow games have been easier to work with for me than TV shows lately, but I will prevail. In the meantime, enjoy this Borderlands fic. :shifty eyes:**_

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><p>"Relax. The gun is a part of you. Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly." She watched as he exhaled, the breath leaving his body completely before he gently squeezed the trigger. The bullet whistled through the air and brought down a distant spiderant. "Remember: if the rifle surprises you, you're doing it right." A satisfied smirk pulled at one corner of his mouth as he flipped the rifle so the barrel rested on his shoulder. "Think you can handle that?"<p>

She made a derogatory noise in the back of her throat, snatching the gun out of his hands with a quickness none of her… _companions_… had ever gotten used to. Bloodwing screeched from the other shoulder, taking off only to begin circling above the two mercenaries. Ignoring the man's pet—something that became increasingly more simple as they traveled together—she adjusted the position of the sniper until she held it comfortably enough, all the while feeling Mordecai's gaze criticizing her every move.

Lilith gazed through the scope with one eye, closing the other with an annoyed sigh. She had never seen the point of using the scope on the dozens of SMGs she'd found with them. Simple pointing-and-shooting had always worked just as well. As long as whoever she was fighting wound up dead and she survived, what did it matter?

As a spiderant came within sight, her view through the scope—once steady—began to sway. She eased a breath in, her shoulders tense as she aimed for her target. Forcing herself to relax as the breath slipped out, the creature turned, leaving its abdomen vulnerable. She squeezed the trigger, only to have the bullet skim the armored shell of its head as it turned toward her.

"Dammit," she murmured, sneering as she lowered the gun and glared at the spiderant that was now rolling about, confused by the gunshot.

"It's all about timing, especially at this distance." He moved to stand beside her, his eyes all but hidden beneath the goggles attached to his mask. She wondered briefly just how well he could see from them, but checked herself when he stared down at her. "When it looks like it's going to turn away from you, take your shot."

With a curt nod, she set up the shot again, only to have the bullet bury itself in the dirt beside her target when she fired. She cursed, resisting the urge to simply phasewalk and crush the abdomen with her bare hands. So much for her presumption that using a sniper rifle would be simple.

"Try keeping both your eyes open when you look through the scope." She looked over at him, lifting an eyebrow rather than verbally questioning him. He shrugged. "It's what I do."

Blinking before looking away, she took up her stance once more, resting the gun comfortably as she regained her focus. Though it felt awkward to keep both eyes open, she found it easier to focus through the scope. She shrugged it off as she returned her attention to the spiderant, its confusion having shifted to disinterest as it lazily walked back and forth.

The breath left her slowly through slightly parted lips. The target turned fully just as she squeezed the trigger, the swollen abdomen bursting as the bullet struck home. Another spiderant clawed its way out of the ground, and she repeated the newfound technique to prove to herself it wasn't a stroke of luck in her favor that took down the first. When the second lay dead by her hands, she lowered the gun and turned to Mordecai. She rested the butt on the ground with her hands on the barrel, leaning toward him with a triumphant grin.

He crossed his arms over his chest, nodding his approval. "Not bad, not bad." When she narrowed her eyes in a defiant glare, he said, "Until you can take out a full camp of bandits with just headshots the way _I_do, all you're getting from me is 'not bad'."


End file.
